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{{Short description|Generic term for a family of West African drums}}
{{For|the Serer people's sacred drum|Junjung}}

{{More citations needed|date=January 2012}}

{{Infobox Instrument
|name=Dunun
|background=percussion
|image=Dundun.JPG
|image_capt=Dunun player at a wedding ceremony in Bamako, Mali
|classification=[[Membranophone]]
|hornbostel_sachs=211.212.1
|hornbostel_sachs_desc=Directly struck membranophones, tubular drums, two usable membranes, single instruments
|articles=[[Djembe]], [[Mandinka people]]
}}

'''Dunun''' ({{IPA|man|ˈdu.nun|label=Malinké:}}; plural '''dunun''') (also spelled '''dundun''' or '''doundoun''') is the generic name for a family of [[West African]] drums that have developed alongside the ''[[djembe]]'' in the [[Mandé peoples|Mande]] drum ensemble.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.africandrumming.com.au/product-category/more-drums/dunun/|title=Dunun Archives - African Drumming|website=African Drumming|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-18}}</ref>

A dunun is a rope-tuned cylindrical drum with a [[Rawhide (textile)|rawhide]] skin at both ends, most commonly cow or goat. The drum is played with a stick. Depending on the region, a plain straight stick, curved stick with flat head (similar to the stick used for a ''[[Tama (percussion)|tama]]''), or a straight stick with a cylindrical head attached at right angles near one end may be used to strike the skin.

Traditionally, the drum is played horizontally (placed on a stand or worn with a shoulder strap). For a right-handed player, the right hand plays the skin and the left hand optionally plays a bell that may be mounted on top of the drum or held in the left hand. The latter style is popular in [[Mali]] and originally from the [[Khassonké people]]. {{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Three different sizes of dunun are commonly played in West Africa.
*The ''dundunba'' (also spelled ''dununba'') is the largest dunun and has the lowest pitch. Typical size is {{convert|60|-|70|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|40|-|50|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter. "Ba" means "big" in the [[Mandinka language|Malinké language]], so "dundunba" literally means "big dunun".
*The ''sangban'' is of medium size, with higher pitch than the dundunba. Typical size is {{convert|50|-|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|30|-|40|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter.
* The ''kenkeni'' is the smallest dunun and has the highest pitch. Typical size is {{convert|45|-|50|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|25|-|35|cm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter.

Dunun are always played in an ensemble with one or more [[djembe]]s.

==Nomenclature==
The names of the drums are [[Onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]], meaning that they sound like the thing they describe. This is common for West African instruments. ''[[Shekere]]'' (gourd rattle), ''[[Djembe#Decoration|sege sege]]'' (metal djembe rattle), ''[[Djembe|kese kese]]'' (woven basket rattle), and ''kenken'' (a bell played with dunun) are Malinké onomatopoeic terms for other instruments that are commonly played together with dunun and djembe.

''Dundunba'', ''sangban'', ''kenkeni'', ''kensedeni'', and ''kensereni'' are Malinké terms. (''Kensedeni'' and ''kensereni'' are synonyms for ''kenkeni.'') In Mali and northeast Guinea, the dundunba and sangban are often both referred to as ''jeli-dunun'' (also spelled ''djeli-dunun'') because they were traditionally played by the ''[[griots|jelis]]'' (French: ''[[griots]]''). Among the [[Bamana people]] in Mali, the dundunba is known as ''khassonka dunun'' and the sangban is known as ''konkoni'' (played without a bell). There, the drums are headed with goatskin instead of the cowskin used elsewhere.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

{{anchor|djun djun}}The name ''djun djun'' is a common western misnomer. There is no such word in the [[Mandinka language|Malinké language]] and this term should not be used.<ref>{{cite video |people=[[Mamady Keïta]] |title=Djembe talk and performance with Mamady Keïta at the Big Bang festival in Dublin, Ireland |volume=Part 1 |format=flv |url=http://djembefola.com/learn/djembe-videos/interviews/mamady-keita |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103151853/http://djembefola.com/mamady-keita-interview.php |archive-date=3 January 2012 |url-status=live |publisher=djembefola.com |year=2009 |time=36:50, 44:40 |quote=The word "djun djun" is neither a Malinké word, neither a French word, it would surprise me if it was an English word, it's not Spanish, it's not Chinese, I have no idea where this word "djun djun" came from. So {{em|please}}, {{em|please}}, {{em|please}}, do not call these instruments "djun djun". Call them their Malinké name, which is "dunun".<br /><br />''Question:'' I want to ask you the reason why you call them "dunun" rather than "djun djun". Is it because of the similarity with the word "[[juju]]"? Were the drums being used as part of juju ceremonies?<br />''Answer:'' It's simply because the blacksmiths who created these instruments gave them the name "dunun". In the language of Malinke, "djun djun" doesn't exist in their language. And "juju", as you referred to it, is not the word they use in Malinké for juju. They don't use that word. It's another word in Malinké, so it's completely unrelated to the language of Malinké. }}</ref>

A dunun player is generically known as a ''dununfola'' (literally, "one who plays dunun"). Specifically, the kenkeni, sangban, and dununba players are referred to as ''kenkenifola'', ''sangbanfola'', and ''dununbafola'', respectively.

The drum is also not to be confused with the dùndún, a type of [[talking drum]] used by the [[Yoruba people]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dùndún pressure drum {{!}} musical instrument|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/dundun-pressure-drum|access-date=2020-09-10|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

==Techniques==

[[File:Djun.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Dundunba]] from [[The Gambia]]]] 
There are two primary playing styles for dununs. The ''traditional style'' or Mandingue style has each player using a single drum resting on its side, either on the floor or on a stand, and striking the head with one mallet and a bell mounted on top with the other.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Price|date=2013|title=Rhythms of Culture: Djembe and African Memory in African-American Cultural Traditions|journal=Black Music Research Journal|volume=33|issue=2|pages=227–247|doi=10.5406/blacmusiresej.33.2.0227|issn=0276-3605|jstor=10.5406/blacmusiresej.33.2.0227|s2cid=191599752 }}</ref> A melody is created across the interplay of the three dununs. For the other style, known as ''ballet style'' as it is used in the National Ballets, one player has command of the three dununs standing on the floor, allowing a more complex arrangement for the dance. {{Listen|filename=djun.ogg|title=Ballet dunun|description=Three dunun, played upright by a single player without bells (ballet style)|filesize=250 KB}}
There are wide variations on how the dunun is played throughout West Africa. In [[Mali]] they are sometimes played with just one dunun and a bell that is held in the hand.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Dark Art of the Dunun |url=http://www.tanamasi.com/the-dark-art-of-the-dunun/ |first=Wayne |last=Alford |access-date=July 21, 2013 |work=Tanamasi West African Percussion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033303/http://www.tanamasi.com/the-dark-art-of-the-dunun/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In some regions of [[Guinea]] the dunun is played with no bells, or only two dunun are played. In some regions of [[Mali]] up to five dununs are played at the same time. In [[Hamanah]], ([[Guinea]]) three dununs with bells are played. This style is one of the most known in the west, due to the influence of [[Mamady Keïta]], [[Famoudou Konaté]], Mohamed Diaby, [[Bolokada Conde]], and other players from Guinea. It is formed of three dununs of different sizes; the ''kenkeni'' (smallest), ''sangban'' (medium) and ''dununba'' (largest). The ''kenkeni'' has the highest pitch and usually holds the rhythm together with a simple pattern. The ''sangban'' typically has a more complex part which defines the rhythm. The ''dununba'' often serves to add depth with deep, widely spaced notes. These drums provide a rhythmic and melodic base for the djembe ensemble.

In [[Bamako]] ([[Mali]]), a style of playing with two dunun developed. Both so called ''konkoni'', have goat skin and are played without the bell. The konkoni with the highest pitch keeps the accompanying rhythm and the konkoni with the lowest pitch keeps the lead melody and solos.
<br>In the [[Khassonké]] region of [[Mali]], the biggest of the dununs has the leading role - making solos and leading the song.

==See also==
*[[Djembe]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Percussion}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:African drums]]
[[Category:Burkinabe musical instruments]]
[[Category:Directly struck membranophones]]
[[Category:Gambian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Senegalese musical instruments]]
[[Category:Guinean musical instruments]]
[[Category:Bissau-Guinean musical instruments]]
[[Category:Malian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Ivorian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Membranophones]]
[[Category:Unpitched percussion instruments]]

[[de:Djembé#Die Bass-Trommeln (Dunduns)]]